Clock



A115 3L 1937- P. S. VAN BLOEM 2,0%,3452

CLOCK Filed March 6, 1935 Patented Aug. 31, .1937

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOCK Application March 6, 1935, Serial No. 9,605

1A Claim.

Important objects of the invention are to provide a clock with a luminous dial of improved form, and to provide such a clock with a base designed to house a source of illumination for the dial and also provide a support for useful articles in front of the clock face.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a front face view of the clock, with the base partly in section;

Fig. 2 a vertical section approximately on the line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 an enlarged detail view of the dial panel showing it partly in vertical section on the line 2 2 of Fig. l and partly in edge elevation;

Fig. 4 a fragmentary front face view of the ldial panel showing dial indicia of modied form; Fig. 5 an enlarged section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 an enlarged detail section on the line 5 6 of Fig. l.

The improved clock includes a box-like base I which may be formed by a single metal casting. At its upper side the base has a straight transverse slot 2 spaced materially rearward from the forward edge of the base. A transparent glass dial panel or face panel 3 is supported in an upright position on the base, with its lower edge margin fitted in the slot 2 and its edge exposed to the interior of the base. Within the casing an electric lamp 4 is mounted in a position directly beneath the lower edge of the panel. The lamp may be removably supported by any suitable means. Directly back of the central area of the panel 3 there is a casing 5 forming a housing for an electric clock mechanism or movement. Said movement may be of a conventional type and illustration of it is omitted to simplify the drawing. The clock hands 6 are mounted to travel over the front face of the panel and the panel has an aperture `I through which extends the operative connection 8 between the movement and the hands. A tubular standard 9, secured to the top of the base, supports said housing. At its lower endthe tubular standard opens into the interior of the base casing. Conductors I0 for electric current extend through an aperture in the rear side of the base and are in circuit connection with the lamp 4 and also with the clock movement through the standard 9. In the lamp circuit there is a switch I I supported by the top wall of the base casing.

Forward of 'the panel 3 the top wall of the base casing I has a rather large aperture I2V affording access to the interior of the casing to in.-

(Cl. IMO-2.1)

sert or remove the lamp and attend to the electrical connections. Between the rear space Within the casing occupied by the lamp and electrical connections, and the front space beneath the aperture I2 there is a removable partition I3 to exclude dust from the said rear space. Said partition is in the form of a thin, flexible and resilient metal plate. The plate is exed to snap its upper and lower edges into retaining notches I 4 and I5 on the upper and lower walls of the casing. The notches are so spaced as to hold the plate bowed. On its forward face the plate has a knob I6 whereby it may be forcibly pulled free from the notches and removed through the aperture I2.

'Ihe top wall of the casing I has a countersunk margin II around the aperture I2 forming a ledge. Supported on said ledge there is a tray I8. In the present instance said tray is in the form of a desk set. It comprises a at body I9 grooved at its upper face, as at 20, to receive pencils or pens, and bearing a universally hinged socket 2| to receive a fountain pen. Around its edge the flat body has a supporting fiange Illa to rest upon the ledge I'I and removably support the tray. Said ange is approximately midway in the depth of the tray body so that the upper portion of the body projects to a level above that of the body of the casing I and the lower portion projects downward through the aperture I2. The tray may be made in other forms for other utility.

The front face 22 of the panel is flat and smooth over its entire area to refiect light. The rear face 23 of the p anel has areas 24 which are parallel to the front face and made smooth to refiect light. Other areas 25 of the rear face are roughened, and lines or grooves 26 may be formed in the face. The roughness may be produced by etching or sand blasting to form multitudes of minute, closely arranged depressions, as shown. A coating 2'I of silver is applied to the roughened areas and to the lines or grooves for brilliant reflection of light. As shown, the coating is applied directly to the Walls of the minute depressions. The rough areas and the lines or grooves define a dial including a central eld 28 and a series of hour numbers around said eld. The lines or grooves form boundary lines around the hour numbers, and also time graduations. Around the outside of the dial and between the hour numbers the rear face of the panel is flat and smooth and the panel is quite transparent. The roughened and silvered areas and grooves or lines are, on the other hand, opaque. The central eld 28 formed by the larger roughened and silvered area is large enough to entirely conceal, from the front, the casing 5 which houses the clock movement.

Rays from the lamp 4 enter the lower edge of the panel 3 and are transmitted upward therethrough. In the passage of the light through the panel, rays are reflected back and forth internally between the front face and the fiat, smooth areas of the rear face so that practically no light emerges from said areas or from the portions of the front face of the panel opposite said areas and said portions of the panel are therefore non-luminous. Said back and forth internal reflection is due to the fact that the rays make an angle with the panel faces within the critical angle so that they cannot emerge from the panel faces. Other light rays Within the panel are, however, reflected from the roughened and silvered areas at angles to the front face greater than the crictical angle so that they emerge from the front face and cause the dialdefining areas and lines or grooves to appear luminous, 'I'he luminosity of the central field 28 causes the clock hands in front of said field to appear distinctly in silhouette. The silver coating by increasing the reflection enables a high degree of luminosity to be obtained from the employment of a lamp 4 of low power. The silvering of the field and the characters also enables them, when the lamp is extinguished, to reflect sufficient daylight or other external light to render them distinctly visible through the front face of the panel. The portion of the panel bearing the silvered characters is clear and exposed front and back so that the characters contrast sharply with said clear portion, Rays also emerge from the exposed outer edges of the panel and render them luminous. If desired, the luminoslty of said edges may be dimmed by roughening them, as at 29.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a panel 3a with modified dial markings. There the hour indications are deiined by circular roughened areas 25a in the rear face. The central field 28a is also circular. For a desired distinctive effect the central area of each hour mark may have a solid or continuous silver coating 2l and a surrounding spattered silver coating 2lb admitting some light therethrough.

What I claim is:

A day-and-night clock comprising a. dial panel of transparent glass formed at its rear face wall with isolated groups of minute depressions defining a central eld and a series of hour characters spaced inwardly from the edges of the panel and spaced around the outside of said field, a coating of opaque refiecting material applied to the Walls of said depressions defining the field and hour characters, illuminating means disposed to cast rays upon an edge of said panel, a casing for a clock movement supported back of the panel in register with the central field and concealed by the field and its coating when viewed from the front, clock hands disposed in front of the panel within the field to travel over said eld, the panel being formed with a fiat, smooth front face extending over and around the field and characters and with a parallel smooth rear surface extending around the field and around and between the groups of depressions, the portions of the panel around the said field and around and between the characters being clearly transparent and freely exposed at the front and back, whereby the coated depressions will vividly reflect light received edgewise through the panel from said illuminating means when the clock is in use as a night clock, and whereby also when said illuminating means is extinguished and the clock is in use as a day clock the coated depressions will reflect sufficient daylight through the faceof the panel to render the field and characters distinctly visible through the front face of the panel and in sharp contrast to the clearly transparent portions of the panel between and around the field and characters.

PAUL SCHUYLER VAN BLOEM. 

